According to research firm DFC Intelligence, 92 percent of all PC game sales across the world were digital in 2013. Speaking to PCR , the firm also said that it expects this number to increase in the years to come. DFC said earlier this year that the PC games market had surpassed the console gaming sector in terms of total revenues.

While other research firms like NPD Group have begun trying to track digital sales, they are finding that some publishers and storefronts like Steam don't want to cooperate with them, making the task of getting accurate figures a lot more difficult to get a handle on.

Microsoft and Sony are making strides towards providing digital game downloads at launch (available on the same day as their retail boxed counterparts) in their respective storefronts for PS4 and Xbox One, which means that consoles could potentially catch up to PC games sales at some point.

The data from DFC Intelligence is a preview of an upcoming report that it plans to release in the first week of Sept.

Comments

"PS4 and Xbox One, which means that consoles could potentially catch up to PC games sales at some point."

Not until they start having more sales or lower their prices for digital in general. Major reason why digital has become so popular with PC gaming is because online retailers like steam have made it a whole lot cheaper to buy said games. why buy a physical copy of a game when you can get it for less than half the price during a steam sale? Really i would not be surprised if significant portion of those digital sales came from major sales times. Digital PC games are not only more convenient, but they are also cheaper. Steam may be a form of DRM, but its drm that gives something back to the customer by giving them a better deal.

Consoles don't seem to get that. They love that all digital would give them more control, but they don't want to give anything back to the consumer. Heck if they sold the digital versions for like $10 cheaper they could probably get a lot more gamers to go digital and major sales like what steam has would crush physical retailers during the holidays. You'll see some sales, but nothing like what you get with Steam. They try to avoid lowering their prices as much as possible so that they can get as much as they can out of every unit sold as opposed to lowering prices and trying to make up for the loss with sheer volume.

My frustration with Gamestop ended when an employee almost refused to sell me the Xbox 360, Kinect bundle because I refused to buy into the whole crappy gaming mag and rewards card. The fact she purposely got upset and told me she brought out the wrong Xbox and when I got home I noticed she gave me the 3 GIG version and I had to go back and get the correct version that was the last time I used Gamestop.

Plus having family steal hundreds of dollars worth of digital games forced me to go digital. Going digital hasn't been that bad either with the PS3.

All my games are on one HDD. I don't have to work about losing a disk the only negative thing of course is not being able to sell your games.

If I do go to a store its Best Buy and I buy tax free digital PSN Cards.

I will add that I miss EB Games and the overall feel of Gamestop has helped ruin my video game experience. I used to love going into EB and they happen to carry a graphics card for your PC as well has other hardware.

With the forced upselling from Gamestop slowly actual gamers who worked at Gamestop were replaced with female workers who are not even video game fans but rather just sales clerks who do not know what they are selling. For years I would go to gamestop even though they tried to sell me a used (Employee Played Scratched up game) as new as well as trying to shove that crappy gaming mag down my throat and I could DEAL with that because they were gamers and knew what they were talking about.

Now we got female spiteful sales clerks who refuse any sale or will threaten to release your personal info if you don't like there sales pitch.

Seriously. Since EB Games was eaten up by Gamestop almost 10 years ago I have increasingly purchased my games online because no one sells them. It has been at least six years since I have bought a physical PC game and since I live in a major city with fast internet even if stores did start carrying physical games again I would have zero interest. That ship has sailed.

Indeed. I haven't even set foot in a GameStop retailer in about 4 years as I know none of them carry PC games anymore, and I don't own any consoles from the current (PS4/XB1/Wii U) or last generation (PS3/360) so there's no point to me to do so.